"I’m the sort of person who dreams of finding antiques at the back of rundown sheds," Marian Poole says. "So it was just magic to find this thing."
When she discovered it in her wood shed, the sideboard was missing a drawer, and covered in saw marks and paint. But suspecting it was a link to the Deborah Bay Torpedo Boat Corps, she dragged it out, had it restored and placed it in her living room.
The Dunedin music teacher is standing in front of a piece of furniture whose original owner was apparently charged with defending Otago Harbour from Russian invaders.
The living area has a raised ceiling and recycled sliding doors that lead into the conservatory.
